Figuring Out the Stuff Between the Beginning and the End

A Dater’s Guide to Disney Princesses: Mulan

All right… I’m gonna say some things here. And I’m likely to catch crap for those things. But, please remember, you followed my blog or clicked on a link because you already think of me as funny or quirky or intriguing or just a really fantastic writer. Gotta be one of those things, right?

Anyway… Is Mulan really a princess? (He asks, ducking to avoid rotten fruit being thrown in his general direction.)

Seriously, though. She doesn’t come from a royal line that I’m aware of. Sure, her family is of noble lineage. But she’s not the daughter of the Chinese emperor, right?

And in the end, she falls in love with her commanding officer. So, assuming they carry out that relationship to a marriage (I don’t know, I never saw Mulan II because I refuse to devote any time to straight-to-DVD animated features), she’s not marrying into royalty, like Cinderella once did.

I’m pretty sure all that means she’s not a princess. She’s admirable, yes. But she’s not a princess. Why would Disney include Fa Mulan in their list of official Disney Princesses but not Kida, the Princess of Atlantis (whom we’ll discuss next week)?

Should You Date Her?

No.

For one thing, she’s lying about being a princess.

For another, she seems slightly gender confused. I understand that her reasons are noble. She’s saving her elderly father from having to go off to fight the Huns. This means she has strong family ties, which is a plus.

But she’s dressing like a dude. For the vast majority of the movie. I mean, if that’s the kind of thing she’s into, that’s cool. I guess.

But it seems to me like that would be problematic in terms of having a relationship.

Hmmm… Yeah, I see where you coming from in regards to dressing like a dude all the time. But then she actually follows her dream too. But I agree, she might be tricky to handle. And she is not a princess…